Display expert explains the Galaxy S8's red tint problem and how to fix it

Some Galaxy S8 owners claim the screens on their phones have a red tint issue. First reported in Korea where the phone has already been delivered to many buyers, the issue was quickly dismissed by Samsung. The company says there's an easy fix for any reddish display: just head to the Settings app and solve the problem yourself. However, reports detailing the problem explored various reasons why this may happen, suggesting we may be looking at a manufacturing defect.

A display expert who declared the Galaxy S8's display to be the best smartphone screen currently available elaborated on the issue, saying it's likely that there is nothing actually wrong with those screens.

"My two Galaxy S8 units are accurately calibrated and don't show any red tinting when everything is set to the Factory Defaults, DisplayMate's Raymond Soneira said in an email to BGR. "However, users can shift the White Point to make it more reddish or more bluish with the user Color Balance controls that are available under Display Settings. I can reproduce the published photo that way. The Night Shift Blue Light Filter can also be adjusted in Display Settings to give the display a reddish tint."

"The Deep Red OLED, which I mention in my Galaxy S8 article, does not change the White Point," he added. "The article also mentions that the color balance problem could be caused by Diamond Pixels that have twice as many green sub-pixels, which is also nonsense."

However, Soneira admits that there is a possibility the issue is caused by "defective OLED panels, misadjusted displays at the factory, or software bugs," but he says the most likely explanation is the Color Balance settings. Fixing the Galaxy S8's red tint issue seems to be fairly easy, it seems. Let's see if the problem persists after it's fixed.